


The Red Baron

by sp00kworm



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fantasy, Legends, M/M, Masquerade Comic, Modern Setting, Mystery, Party, Reaper - Freeform, Red Death - Freeform, Seducing, Supernatural AU - Freeform, balls, myths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 13:16:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11669877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp00kworm/pseuds/sp00kworm
Summary: The tale of the Red Baron spans an age. A man cloaked in red, a skull mask adorning his face, frequents the parties of the rich, and takes the lives of the attendees. Those who are ignorant to the suffering of others and are blinded by their title are targeted, for none can escape the wrath of the baron.





	The Red Baron

The tale of the Red Baron spans an age. A man cloaked in red, a skull mask adorning his face, frequents the parties of the rich, and takes the lives of the attendees. Those who are ignorant to the suffering of others and are blinded by their title are targeted, for none can escape the wrath of the baron. Maidens are lured into the woods, and their souls are taken to replenish the life force of the Baron. Males are torn from their beds, children are cajoled away into the rivers where they drown. In all cases the bodies washed up, drained of all life, grey husks of the person they used to be. Their shrivelled corpses were often burnt to prevent the disease of the Red Baron, or the Red Death as it became known to the commoners, from consuming the whole village, but the rich were unaware of the stories. Entire houses of the rich would disappear over a span of several months, drowned, lost or murdered in their sleep. But these tales have been lost in the winds of time, and in the modern day, their warnings are all but forgotten. The Red Baron, however, is far from myth and legend. 

Jack was never a big fan of fancy balls. They were socialising events for rich people to show off to one another, but, his mother had refused to let him pass up on the opportunity, and had insisted he go. The invite had been signed with an unfamiliar stamp, but it would be rude to refuse such a nicely written invite. Carefully, Jack traced the curled lettering of the hand written invitation and wondered just what seal was printed at the bottom. Roses curling around a crown embedded with strange shaped jewels. It wasn't a family seal he had ever seen, so it made him more curious just to who had invited him to the farce of an event. A Masquerade ball of all things. Jack had rebuked the idea, but was comforted a small amount by the fact that no one would really know who he was exactly, or wouldn't be able to directly recognise him. At least that small saving grace would mean that he could avoid the crowds of girls asking him about the wars he'd been in. He was sick of those gaggles of giggling girls.

The car pulled up at the gate of the estate, and Jack peered through the wind shield, turning slightly in his seat to stare at the stately home. It was an impressive piece of architecture, and Jack's mouth dropped open a little as they drove up the pebbled path. Trees and bushes were strung with lights and lanterns, shining brightly against the darkness of the night. The house itself was lit up brilliantly from the amount of chandeliers that were on. Jack could only stare until his driver finally pulled up outside of the house.  
“Enjoy your evening, sir.” The man gave him a brief look, and Jack nodded, scrambling for his invitation before exiting the car. The car pulled away slowly, and left him stood by an extravagant fountain, alone and unsure of just what he had got himself into. He took a step before remembering to pull his red, visor-like mask down over his head. Positioning the holes over his eyes, he took a deep breath before ascending the steps to the estate home.

Security met him on the doorstep and stood in the way of the open door, holding a hand out for an invitation or identification which would allow him the right into the party. Jack held out his invite to the bouncer, looking the huge man dead in the eyes as pudgy fingers took hold of the invite and glanced it over. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the seal on the bottom of the written invitation. The security member leaned over to his partner and whispered into his ear. The other man leaned over and took a look at the letter before also scowling at the seal. The first man turned back to Jack.  
“Sir, this letter was not sent by the Lord. You may have the incorrect estate?” He read over the text again and scratched his cheek, evidently confused.   
Jack huffed, “The address is this house, so where else could it be?” He narrowed his eyes and tapped his foot, fiddling with the watch around his wrist. 

An arm curling around his waist caught him off guard. A man draped in red descended the stairs towards him, a cape swirling around his legs in a cascading waterfall of blood red fabric. The red velvet material brushed against Jack's hand, making him shiver as a cold settled over him. The figure was masked, as per the theme of the party, a white crafted skull covering their face. Gloves curled into the fabric of Jack's suit jacket and the blond stared at the intimidating mask, swallowing a lump in his throat. He peered back at the two bouncers as the stranger flipped out his own invitation.   
“I think you'll find that I invited him, as my...plus one.” His voice was deep and gravelly, a strange lull to his words as it vibrated through the mask covering the stranger's face. The security looked between one another and nodded before moving aside, carefully eyeing the queue that had formed behind Jack during their little disagreement. Jack watched the stranger's mask as he swept the both of them into the party, his red cape fluttering behind them, flapping by their ankles.

Jack managed to spin himself out of the stranger's grip when they made their way over to the large drinks table. The stranger's hand twitched before his arm fell back by his side, curling back under the fabric of his extravagant cape. The man tilted his head, as though confused, and Jack flushed under the mask, having been manhandled into the party.  
"Thank you for helping me, but don't you think it's a little rude to whisk someone into a party without first introducing yourself?" Jack felt his fists shake a little with anger as he waited for a response.   
The stranger ran a finger over the ruffled collar piece attached to his cape, contemplating, before answering in his deep raspy voice, "You have your invitation, do you not?" Jack nodded slowly and the man chuckled, the sound wispy, before bowing low, the feathers on his hat falling in front of his unsettling skull mask, "Lord Reyes, at your service, Jack."  
Jack raised a sceptical eyebrow under his mask and snorted before sticking out his hand, "Pleasure to meet you." He smirked, "Do you often take to sending mystery invites, Lord Reyes." He mockingly drew out his pronunciation of 'lord' and snickered as the man moved his head to the side and drew himself out of the bow without a word. 

Reyes seemed to eye Jack for a moment before he offers his arm to him. Jack was stunned into silence for a moment, and looked around the party. No one was looking at them. Reyes chuckled and grabbed Jack's arm, linking it through his crooked elbow before handing Jack a drink from the table. It was some sort of cocktail, swirling purple colours and fizzy.   
"No one here is interested in the likes of us, Jackie." The nickname was teasingly coated. Reyes swept his arm about the room, and Jack's eyes followed. Everywhere there was men and woman gossiping in groups, and none of them paying attention outside of their independent groups of individuals, "They're all far too engaged discussing business and ignoring the needs of others." Jack furrowed his eyebrows as a trace of venom leaked into the red clad man's tone, but he shook of his dark feeling and nodded slowly.  
"So what was it that you wished to do this evening Lord Reyes-" Jack quietened as a finger pressed against his lips.  
A teasing voice tinkered behind the creamy coloured skull mask, "Please," Feathered tickled Jack's cheeks as the man dipped his head close to Jack's ear, and whispered, "Call me Gabriel." Jack only nodded as he was tugged along towards the crowds of people and Gabriel tilted his head to the side again, "Lets dance, Jackie-boy."

A couple of people eyed them through dark coloured masks as they weaved through the crowds, and towards the dance floor. Most of them, however, appeared to be staring at Gabriel's entirely red outfit with either pursed lips at the garish amount of dangerous red, or wonder as to just what, or who, he was dressed up as. Jack's hand clenched in the soft fabric of Gabriel's overcoat as he felt the eyes wandering over him. His skin crawled a little with the attention and he tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other to distract himself. Tugging his free hand through his blond hair, he took a deep breath and focused on the dance floor. A small quartet of violins and a cello was set up in the corner and Jack smiled as the string instruments weaved a sombre tune, with a mellow roundness that only string instruments could produce. A number of couples were spinning around on the dance floor. The music tempo changed and the couples lined up across from one another before bowing and swapping partners, handing them across and spinning under arms in a strange rhythm. Jack stood and watched silently until the reverberating strings died away, and the crowd broke into an applause. The musicians only turned their sheet music on their stands with small smiles and nods. Gabriel hummed and dragged Jack onto the dance floor as the musicians pressed their bows to their strings.

The red cape wrapped around Gabriel's shoulders fluttered against the backs of their legs and swirled around as Gabriel snapped himself around to face his partner. Jack stumbled as he was pulled into a formal dancing position, but quickly righted himself and placed his hand on Gabriel's shoulder and, reluctantly, linked his other with Gabriel's out stretched hand. The strange man made no noise but simply inclined his chin a little as the music began and then whisked Jack across the dance floor. The blond quickly caught his footing, and looked down at his own polished shoes, trying to make sure he was keeping time, and to avoid stepping on Gabriel's toes- which he narrowly avoided a total of four times. After letting Jack suffer for a couple of minutes, carefully, Gabriel raised Jack's chin with a single finger and tilted his head to the side, feathers flopping over with the movement. Swallowing, Jack looked at the dark holes where Gabriel's eyes should have been, and shivered. There was no sign of eyes until a flash of red caught his eye. It was brief, two red rings glowing in the eye sockets before disappearing just as quickly as they had appeared. Jack blinked and they were gone. Quietly, he enjoyed the rest of the upbeat staccato rhythm, leaping about the dance floor with Gabriel as a confident lead. 

The two of them danced for some time until a chorus of gentle tinkling bells were sounded. Various staff members of the estate, butlers in sharp tuxedos and maids in pressed dresses, were stood around the room, silver bells held in their right hands. The head butler stepped forwards, outwards from the rest of the house staff and bowed before the guests. Jack took the opportunity to make some distance between himself and Gabriel. The man only tilted his head in response as Jack carefully pushed himself out of his embrace and pried Gabriel's hand from his waist. The butler took another step into the room and swept his arm out in a wide movement, gesturing towards the glass pannel doors across the room. The house staff opened the large doors revealing the large laid table and trolleys of food that was to be served.   
"Dinner is served. Please, make your way towards the dinning hall beloved guests." Gabriel offered his arm with a flourish and Jack rolled his eyes before allowing the mysterious man to lead him into the dinning hall. 

The entirety of the party guests were led into the dinning hall and seated. Corks were popped and champagne flowed along with various wines as the guests all partook in jovial drinking. The host was seated at the head of the table, two women hanging off his arms, one of each, and drank heartily, laughing with the guests seated near him. Jack turned his attention towards Gabriel who was seated, his arms folded on the table top. His food was untouched, and now and then he would poke a piece of it around his plate to give the impression he was eating. Even his drink was untouched. Jack never recalled seeing him drink the one he had picked up earlier in the evening either. The blond watched with curious eyes for a few more minutes before finishing up his food and gently poking Gabriel in the arm to get his attention. The red dressed man shifted his focus from listening to the surrounding conversation, and hummed pleasantly, turning his head to face Jack.

Placing his cutlery down, Jack pointed at Gabriel's uneaten food with a teasing smile, "Don't you know its rude to play with your food, Gabriel."   
Gabriel stared at him for a moment, his mask giving Jack an uneasy feeling in his gut as the skull glared at him. Eventually Gabriel moved his head, resting it on top of his fist atop the table. He gave a low chuckle, his head rotating as he scanned the men and women eating around them both.  
"What's rude is the things these people say and do..." He was seemingly lost in thought again, "So wrapped up in their own little worlds, their own little games. Its astounding..."   
Jack swallowed thickly and shifted in his seat before taking a few large mouthfuls of wine to dull the uncomfortable feeling settling in his mind. Quietly, he took to focusing on eating the vanilla parfait in front of him, side eyeing Gabriel as the man pushed away his dessert and continued to people watch.

The evening was drawing out, and Jack sighed, seated on the edge of the hall, the alcohol in his system allowing him to relax despite the amount of people. Gabriel had gone to get him some water, and returned silently, holding out a water bottle covered in condensation. Jack gratefully accepted the water and downed half of the contents before smiling gently at Gabriel. Taking a heated breath he pulled the mask off his face and exhaled, fanning his hand and pressing the cool bottle to his forehead to try to cool himself off in the hot room. Gabriel's hands twitched a little by his sides before he was stepping forwards. His cape swirled around his calves as he stood over Jack, a black gloved hand out stretched towards the blond. The fingers twitched as Gabriel's head moved, him scanning the crowd again. A cough from a young woman in the corner broke Jack out of his daze, and he eyed the hand with a raised eyebrow. 

The skull mask turned towards Jack, staring down at him, "Shall we go for a stroll? The fresh air might help cool you off." Jack could sense the smile behind the words.  
Jack placed his hand in Gabriel's and allowed himself to be pulled up, "Sure. I could use the air."  
"Excellent, Jack." Gabriel leant in close for a moment, as though he was looking for something on Jack's face, but quickly retreated before linking his arm with Jack's and leading him towards the exit to the gardens at the back of the estate. Jack turned his head as more coughing broke out among the crowds of people. Many called for bottles of water while others collapsed into chairs. Frowning, Jack allowed himself to be lead, and gasped as Gabriel's hand gripped his chin, turning it forwards.  
"Don't be concerned."

Gabriel cajoled him far from the estate, red wrapping around him like a blanket, enveloping Jack in a strange daze. He watched the material of Gabriel's outfit ripple as they ducked under low hanging tree branches, the breeze whipping along the red outfit. An owl hooted over head, and Jack gazed upwards into the sparse branches of the trees, their gnarled roots tripping him as he tried to keep pace with Gabriel who was tugging him onwards. The blond jumped as a fox barked and skittered across their path, pups in tow, and he instantly edged closer to Gabriel's back, his mind a mess of colours and blurs of the evening he had just experienced. Leaves were whipped up by the wind and slapped Jack's cheeks, leaving wet trails of water from the rainfall they had had the past few days. Suddenly, Jack collided with Gabriel's back. They'd made it to a small clearing.

The trees here were cinders, their roots gnarled messes, branches broken and leaves ashes scattered around the bases of their boot. Piles of ashes and soot were piled around the boot of the trees, and a small brook ran through the centre of the clearing. The water bubbled over the pebbles and churned against the larger stones. The only green was along the edges of the tiny water way, green long grass curling over, nearly weeping back into the water. Gabriel halted by the brook by the only flower. A large rose bush sat in the centre of the clearing by the pure water. In a wide circle around the base of the bush was a series of flat mushrooms. Gabriel was stood outside the fairy circle and gazed at the singular flower blooming on the bush. It was blood red, a vibrant colour against the ash coloured background, and Gabriel reached out a finger before halting centimetres from the flower. 

Jack gazed at the red draped man and swallowed, finding his voice, "What the fuck is this, Gabriel? What is going on?" He watched Gabriel's head turn to look at him, his hand still reaching towards the rose. Weighing up his options, Jack took a few steps into the clearing and made his way towards the man. As he drew closer, Gabriel held out a hand.  
"Don't-" Gabriel's raspy voice broke off and he choked, "Don't come any closer to me. I'm- I'm not what you think Jack." Looking at his hands, he carefully removed his black gloves, revealing ashen grey skin beneath. Curls of smoke rose from the tips of his fingers, and Jack watched as Gabriel sent his hat flying into the stream. The full face skull mask let smoke pour out of the eye sockets and mouth. Gabriel's hands paused as they grasped his skull mask. Jack reached forwards and carefully eased the mask upwards. 

Jack almost screamed. He dropped the skull to the ground as red eyes opened and blinked. The same corpse coloured skin graced his eyes, but Gabriel's features were littered with scars. Red eyes opened, and immediately a maw opened. His mouth appeared normal at first until his cheeks gave away and opened as well to reveal a set of sharpened garish teeth. They clicked together and smoke poured out from in-between them. Red and black eyes focused on Jack, and in the smoke clouding from Gabriel's back, so did many more pairs. The smoke weaved its way towards jack, but halted before touching his face, Jack fingers inquisitively reached towards the curling mist. Gabriel whipped the smoke away from him.  
"You can't touch me." He turned to look at the rose again and poked the flower, watching as the petals wilted and shrivelled inwards before falling to the floor in a cascade of brown dust. "I kill everything I touch."

Jack gasped, looking at the skull mask on the floor next to his foot, "The Red Death... You-you can't be. It's a myth..." The skull glinted in the moonlight, and Gabriel turned back towards Jack, the smoke pouring off him forming a thick fog around them both.  
"I'm very real. I have been for centuries. Dragging men from their beds, killing children in the rivers. It's all true, but I rather prefer to make the punishments from afar. Disease is a better tool...less personal..."  
Jack ground his teeth, "Can you even hear yourself?!" He clenched his fists and backed away, "You're talking about killing people!" 

Gabriel's hands clenched by his sides, "Those people, all of them, thought themselves above death. Tonight they pay the price for that. They pay for their neglect of others with their lives, Jack." The creature pulled it's black coloured gloves back on and moved away from the fairy circle of mushrooms. Gabriel caressed Jack's face with his hands before smiling, his cheeks separating to reveal his shark like teeth again, "But you, sweet Jack, war hero and farm boy. I've spared you tonight. I like you Jack, now don't waste my mercy." A low, raspy chuckle echoed through the air, and Jack clenched his eyes shut as the smoke swarmed around him, whipping his hair around his head. In a blur of black, the chuckling disintegrated and the Red Death disappeared into the air, once more, myth and legend. Jack could only stare at the rose bush. Panting, he stepped into the fairy circle and gasped as the bush swayed, a new bud bursting free from the stem. A new blood red rose bloomed where the previous one had once been.

**Author's Note:**

> Writing is finally fun again lmao.


End file.
